


The dirty player

by gababa



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, I dont know how to tag, Jun loves exo and his bias is sehun, KrisHo - Freeform, Literally no one is surprised, M/M, a few swear words, its a bit of a korrasami situation, not explicitly but yeah, they both have a crush on junmyeon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-09-30 14:53:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10165439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gababa/pseuds/gababa
Summary: Jongdae was an optimist and he knew (hoped) that sooner or later Junmyeon would notice his feelings and maybe even agree to date him. Junmyeon was too nice to reject someone without giving them a chance. But then that happened. That being the new student from China.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i watched hi suhyun's 'I'm different' and the first thing that came to my mind (okay the second, the first thing was how cute my children were) was that it'd make a cute fic so here you go

For the past half-year (not to mention all of middle school, when he simply admired him from afar) Jongdae was trying to not-very-subtly court Junmyeon, the member of the student counsel. Junmyeon was not only the most responsible and universally liked senior, but also the best looking and the nicest boy in school. He was everything one (read Jongdae) could want; sweet, caring and talented. The boy even sung in the choir, like how perfect he could possibly get. There was only one thing about Junmyeon that Jongdae didn’t like and it was the fact that Junmyeon wasn’t his. He tried numerous times to confess to the boy, but the other was always surrounded by other people. Liking the person the whole school had a crush on was not Jongdae’s best idea.

On the rare times when Jongdae managed to find Junmyeon alone (he was in the choir as well) one smile from Junmyeon was enough to turn his brain into jelly. So confessing was not an option. All he could do was to make the other boy notice him, so for the past half-year he was a constant presence in Junmyeon’s life. If the boy went to library to study, Jongdae would follow suit and spent hours pretending to do something while in fact he is swooning from that beautiful sight that is Junmyeon in glasses. Some days Junmyeon would notice him and make a small talk and even offer to explain the problem Jongdae was supposedly working on. Junmyeon was too nice for his own good. Most of the time though, the boy was terribly oblivious and it was both endearing and annoying. Jongdae would also leave presents in Junmyeon’s locker on Valentine’s day, but the locker was always full of chocolate on that day, so he wasn’t sure Junmyeon would notice his unnamed present among the others. So far Jongdae’s stalkerish behavior went completely undiscovered by Junmyeon and sometimes Jongdae felt like smashing his brain on the nearest wall.

Jongdae was an optimist and he knew (hoped) that sooner or later Junmyeon would notice his feelings and maybe even agree to date him. Junmyeon was too nice to reject someone without giving them a chance. But then that happened. That being the new student from China. The boy was in the same class as Jongdae and Junmyeon and at first Jongdae didn’t mind him, and even liked him for he seemed nice and had a cute accent, but after a while the boy turned into his worst nightmare. Yixing (that was the boy’s name) spent a lot of time with Junmyeon who was the class president and one of the few students who could speak Mandarin. What’s even worse is that Junmyeon seemed to enjoy the boy’s presence. Sometimes Jongdae would catch them whispering things to each other in Chinese and giggling, other times he would notice Yixing’s heart-eyes directed to Junmyeon. _Just great._

For the past month, every time Jongdae went to the library to see Junmyeon, Yixing would be there too, sitting a table away form him. Sometimes, okay, most of the time, Junmyeon offered him to sit beside him and the boy, of course, didn’t object. Why did Jongdae never get invited to sit beside him? _Because you told him you like being alone when he asked why you came here that one day when you forgot to put books on the table to pretend you were studying, you moron._ Jongdae’s brain helpfully supplied.

Yixing was also in the choir. Damn him and his voice. So for the last month every time Jongdae saw Junmyeon he was accompanied by Yixing.

Today also Yixing was there. Junmyeon agreed to rearrange the music classroom since the rest didn’t feel like working and he, being his precious, helpful self, agreed to do the work on his own. Knowing this (he bribed his friend Minseok to tell him about Junmyeon’s schedule) he stayed after classes. He could help Junmyeon to arrange the classroom, then maybe Junmyeon would notice how nice and caring Jongdae is and maybe fall in love with him. His plan wasn’t full-proof but what if it worked.

So when Jongdae opened the door, while rehearsing his excuse for being in the school, he was greeted with a sight he’d rather not see. Junmyeon was putting the books on the upper shelf while standing on a ladder, but this wasn’t what annoyed him. Yixing was there too, keeping the ladder still, while not subtly checking out Junmyeon’s butt. Jongdae’s previous good mood disappeared in seconds. He cleared his throat. The boys looked at him.

“Oh, Jongdae, what are you doing here?” Junmyeon looked good even with a towel wrapped around his head and old books in his hands. Jongdae would smile at the sight if there wasn’t a certain someone glaring at him. Jongdae wished he could take a picture to show Minseok, who claimed that Yixing was a pure angel who was physically unable to be rude to anyone. How did he manage to make everyone think he was innocent? Jongdae hated him more day by day.

“I had stuff to do, so I stayed behind, thought I could help you. Didn’t know there would be _someone else_ helping you.” Luckly, Junmyeon was getting off the ladder and didn’t notice the sharp glares the two boys directed at each other.

“Jongdae, you are so good to me.” Junmyeon came and ruffled Jongdae’s hair. Jongdae thought he’d die right then and there. “See, Yixing, he is as nice as I told you. He is such a good dongsaeng.” Junmyeon was beaming at Jongdae and for a moment Jondae forgot there was someone else in the room.

Yixing snorted.

“He is particularly nice to you.” There was a certain undertone with which the boy said this. Jongdae really wanted to know how other people fell for Yixing’s niceness, this guy is the devil himself.

“Well, I’m his favorite hyung, aren’t I?” Jongdae quickly nodded, trying to control his blush, “You’re so cute!” Junmyeon pinched his cheek.

Jongdae thought he had died and went to heaven. The loud crash from the other side of the room made him rethink where he really was.

“Yixing, what happened?” Junmyeon rushed to Yixing’s sight. Jongdae had a slight suspicion the crash wasn’t accidental.

“I wanted to put these things on the top, but when I put my hand on the bookshelf, something cut me and I dropped the books." Indeed, Yixing’s finger was bleeding.

_Yixing wouldn’t stoop so low to cut his finger for Junmyeon’s attention, would he?_

“Oh God! We need to clean this right now. Jongdae, please put these books on the shelf while I take care of Yixing’s wound, okay?” Junmyeon seemed far more stressed than Yixing who was silently looking at him.

When Yixing was being dragged by Junmyeon to the bathroom, Yixing told Junmyeon how his hand hurt and the latter blew on his finger. Junmyeon was too busy to notice the meaningful wink which Yixing directed at Jongdae.

_If a war is what you want, a war you’ll get._

_xxx_

 

 Jongdae put the present in the doorway and hid in the bushes. Jongdae made sure to find the best birthday present for Junmyeon’s birthday. If there is one thing that his stalking taught him is that EXO is the biggest love of Junmyeon’s life, so he spent half of his savings to get EXO’s new album and the rest on Sehun’s photocard since apparently he was Junmyeon’s favourite from the band. Jongdae might not be able to visit cinema anytime soon, but if it is what it takes to seen Junmyeon smile, he’d gladly sacrifice his hobby. So, here he was hiding behind the bushes near Junmyeon’s home waiting for the other to open the door and see his present.

Jongdae let a very unmanly screech when someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned around to see none other than Junmyeon and Yixing.

_Fuck._

 “Jongdae, what are you doing here?” asked Yixing. Even if he managed to sound casual, his eyes clearly screamed he was barely containing his laughter at finding his opponent in such a compromising situation.

“Um…. I ….um” Fuck. Jongdae didn’t know what to say. Yixing’s smirk was annoying him to no end and his brain couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

Jongdae just ran away.

xxx

 

The next day Jongdae didn’t really want to go to school, since he’d have to see Junmyeon. A few days earlier this was the exact reason he came to school full of motivation, but today he just felt like hiding in his room. He couldn’t face Junmyeon after yesterday’s incident. Junmyeon probably thinks he’s a creep who hides in other people’s bushes and runs away after getting caught. When he entered the classroom, however, something weird happened.

Junmyeon hugged him.

Jongdae could practically hear his brian making that Windows XP shutting down noise.

  
“Thank you so much Jongdae! This is the best gift ever!” Junmyeon was practically bouncing on his feet. There was the EXO CD on his desk.  _Oh._

 _“_ N-no problem. I’m glad you liked it.” Jongdae’s voice sounded weird even to him, but honestly he couldn’t care less right now since Junmyeon’s hands were still around his shoulders.

“I didn’t expect to get anything from you and I was so surprised when I saw you around my house yesterday. But then I saw the present and put everything together. Why didn’t you sign the present? If I didn’t see you yesterday, I wouldn’t know.”

_That was the point._

“I didn’t want to make you think you have to get something for my birthday as well.” Wow. Nice save.

“You’re the cutest!” Junmyeon pinched his cheek. His grandpa tendencies were too endearing to get angry at him. “Thank you again. I’ll listen to this everyday.”

Jongdae just looked back at Junmyeon, but before it got weird the teacher came in and started the class. A few moments later there was a note passed to him.

**Nice move, but it’ll take more than a present to win against me.**

There wasn’t a name, but he knew who it was. The suspect was looking at him with determination in his eyes and smirk on his lips.

**Fucking watch me.**

Jongdae smirked back.

xxx

 

Life is unfair. Why was Jongdae born with such useless limbs? Why couldn’t he dance? What had he done to deserve an opponent who moves his hips like a fucking stripper? A week ago Yixing invited him and Junmyeon to the showcase his dancing crew held. Jongdae agreed to go just to make fun of him. Who knew the clumsy Yixng was actually a pretty decent dancer? Okay, a _really_ good dancer. If Jongdae wasn’t already bisexual, Yixing’s dancing would totally make him question his sexual orientation. Fuck. The worst thing is that Junmyeon seemed to think the same. He didn’t pray his eyes off the dancers and if during the group dance he was loudly cheering, during Yixing’s dance he was terribly quiet. Jongdae couldn’t believe he had to witness his dream crash just before his eyes.

After the showcase ended, Yixing rushed to them.

“So what do you think?” he asked only looking at Junmyeon.

_Of course, he wouldn’t ask me, why would he? Also why am I so bitter over this? This is totally because I’m jealous of Junmyeon, totally._

“Yixing, you were amazing!” Junmyeon hugged Yixing tightly.

 “I’m glad you liked it.” Yixing smiled earnestly.

_When he isn’t being a dick, he is really cut… the hell? This has to be because of the dancing. It has to._

“What about you, Jongdae?” asked Yixing sounding quite sincere, if you don’t know his motives, that is.

“It was okay,” said Jungdae fake smiling.

“Glad you like it,” replied Yixing with a similar fake smile.

“Guys, we have to celebrate this. Let’s go to my favorite café. My treat.”

Jongdae sometimes wondered how oblivious Junmyeon had to be not to notice the tension between Yixing and him.

 

xxx

 

They were quietly looking through the menu when someone came near their table.

“Hi guys.”

The boy was freakishly tall (although for Jongdae a lot of people were freakishly tall), with blond hair and piercings in his ears.

“Hey, Yifan. Sit here. I’ll introduce you.” Junmyeon’s voice suddenly got softer and more affectionate.

_What the hell?_

“Guys, this is my boyfriend, Yifan. Yifan, these are the guys I keep telling you about - Yixing and Jongdae.”

Yixing chocked on his water, while Jongdae’s chin dropped. When Yixing calmed down, he looked between Yifan and Junmyeon before turning to Jongdae, who was seated beside him, with a face that screamed ‘did you know?’. Jongdae shook his head still dazed from the news.

“Um… Nice to meet you too.” Yifan looked uncomfortable, definitely not expecting that reaction.

Yixing recovered after this.

“Sorry, it’s that Junmyeon never told us he had a boyfriend. We are surprised.”

_To say the least._

Junmyeon blushed before turning to face Yifan.

“I might’ve forgotten to tell them about you. Sorry. It’s that we never discussed personal life and you were in China so I wanted to tell them when you met in person.” Junmyeon said sheepishly.

Yifan just snorted and shook his head before looking back at Junmyeon.

Jongdae was still processing the news and didn’t know what to say. Luckily, Yixing was in a better condition.

“You are Chinese too?” Yixing forced himself to sound interested. He couldn’t show them how broken he was.

“Yeah, I’m from Guangzhou. You? I remember Junmyeon often mentioned his Chinese friend but he didn’t say where you were from exactly.” Yifan didn’t seem to catch on Yixing’s fake politeness. Thank God.

“Changsha.”

After this the conversation went smoothly. Junmyeon was gazing at Yifan and sometimes taking part in the conversation. Jongdae managed to pull himself together but he still couldn’t talk. Yixing was talking animatedly. Jongdae wondered how he managed to do that when his heart literally got crashed a few seconds ago. Maybe Yixing didn’t love him like Jongdae did? No. Jongdae had noticed the way Yixing stared at Junmyeon, there is no way it wasn’t love.

“What about your friend?” asked Yifan looking at Jongdae.

Jongdae didn’t even know what the question was about, he just stared back.

“He wants to study music. He is just shy, that’s why he isn’t talking.” Yixing butted in.

“Yeah, he really is shy, so don’t expect him to talk much.” said Junmyeon trying to pretend he believed that. He needed to have a conversation with Jongdae after this.

Yifan understood and changed the subject, saying something to Junmyeon again. Jongdae looked at Yixing trying to thank him for saving him, but the boy just smiled at him. It was the first time he saw Yixing’s smile, genuine smile directed at him. Jongdae felt his stomach flip. This wasn’t good. He quickly looked away and didn’t face Yixing until the other two left, saying they have to go to Junmyeon’s since his parents want to see Yifan as well. This left Jongdae and Yixing sitting on the table both equally quiet and shocked.

“Well, this was something.” said Yixing chuckling lightly. He was sprawled against the table and was looking at Jongdae with this head on his hands.

“Yeah.”

“Did you know about Yifan?” Yixing asked with farrowed brows.

“Of course not. Do you think I’d go after a guy if I knew he had someone?” Jongdae sounded offended.

“Not really. I was just checking. You don’t seem the type.” Yixing sounded relaxed again.

“Then what type do I seem?”

“The type to buy yellow roses a day after your crush remarks how the yellow roses are the prettiest flowers. The type to stay behind on a rainy day because he didn’t bring an umbrella. The type to clean an entire classroom just because your crush asked you to since he was busy cleaning you rival's _totally_ accidental wound.” Yixing was still on the table so Jongdae couldn’t see half of his face, but he seemed to be smiling.

“That was really low of you, you know.” Jongdae couldn’t fight the blush that spread on his face and Yixing seemed to have noticed as his eyes had been scanning Jongdae’s ears and neck.

“I know.” He chuckled. Jongdae wondered why he never noticed how cute his chuckle was."Sorry about that, but you have to do what you have to do.”

“You know, I always wondered how you managed to convince everyone that you are an angel. Like if Minseok or anyone from our class was here they still wouldn’t believe you said that.”

“That’s because I _am_ an angel. I’m just a bit ambitious and competitive.” He raised his face to look at Jongdae more clearly.

“A bit,” deadpanned Jongdae.

Yixing chuckled again.

“I couldn’t help it. You were a serious competition and I’m not used to losing. Also it was really fun seeing your face get red from anger.” If Jongdae didn’t know any better, he’d think that Yixing was gazing at him.

“With an opponent like you, who wouldn’t get angry. You are a dirty player.”

“Excuse you. Who has managed to find EXO’s new album on the first week of the sale and bought it for Junmyeon? I was on three different online shops and they all run out of them in a few minutes. You tried to buy his love and here I am being called a ‘dirty player’,” Yixing tsked.

_He is so cute…. Wait what?_

“If it helps, it didn’t actually work.”

Yixing chuckled before leaning back on his seat.

_He really is cute. Fuck._

“All that time I spent researching Junmyeon and you, all for nothing.” Yixing sounded a bit disappointed.

“Wait, why me too?”

“You should know your opponent better than your target.” Yixing sounded serious.

“You’re so scary, honestly.”

“I get that a lot.”

They just looked at each other. For some reason, it didn’t feel weird. It seemed as if they saw each other for the first time. Jongdae noticed Yixing’s soft hair and thought it must be nice running your hands through it. Yixing noticed Jongdae’s lips and wondered how kissing Jongdae would feel like. They’d continue staring if the waiter didn’t startle them.

“Sorry for breaking the mood, but we are closing,” said they waiter with a knowing smirk, as the boys blushed and quickly got their things before heading out.

They silently walked down the road avoiding eye contact.

“Are you free this Sunday?” asked Yixing suddenly.

“Yeah, sure, why?”

“I have another showcase. The dance is the same, but … I’d like it if you could come.” Yixing sounded shy.

Jongdae’s jaw dropped the second time during the night.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t…” Yixing begun panicking.

“I will.”

“Really?”

“Of course, you dance really well. It’s a big compliment coming from an ex-opponent,” smiled Jongdae.

“It really is.” Yixing looked equally happy. “Maybe we can go somewhere after that?”

“I’d love that.”


	2. The date (kind of)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what happens when Yixing and Jongdae have a date-but-not-a-date after they found out Junmyeon's relationship status.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i though the ending to the last one was kinda rushed and not really believable so i wrote a continuation hope it's better  
> also sorry guys i always start with the present the go back and then present which is awfully confusing so i italiced it just in case

This was awkward. He didn’t know what the hell his brain was thinking when he agreed to come to Yixing’s showcase again. Like what was he expecting? Them talking and joking around like friends? But why would they do that when only two weeks ago he made holes in Yixing’s umbrella just so Junmyeon would have to share his (Junmyeon was never a fan of umbrellas, which came in handy as Jongdae enjoyed walking home with Junmyeon and what better reason he could have than Junmyeon not having an umbrella and he sharing his). If it’s any better he did leave some money behind for a new one. He was civilized like that. Yixing’s payback was quick enough; the next day Jongdae found a bouquet of flowers on his desk with words ‘to the boy with the pretties smile and firmest butt’ on it. Jongdae spent the whole week trying to convince Junmyeon that it was a joke and not an actual admirer, since Jongdae had, quite frankly, minimum chances of dating Junmyeon (thanks to a certain attractive classmate) but even this minimum chances would shatter if Junmyeon thought there was someone liking Jongdae. It was a tough week filled with Junmyeon’s encouraging words of finding the writer of the note and maybe dating them and Yixing’s self-satisfied smirk. If Jongdae didn’t want to punch him before, he sure did then.

These incidents didn’t really explain how the two of them ended up in the same café, around the same table. Jongdae didn’t know what to say. He spent so much time hating the guy, and here he was now drinking tea, as the guy quietly ate his cheesecake. He really didn’t know what made him agree to this. Maybe it was the shock of Junmyeon’s very tall and very attractive boyfriend, maybe it was the fact that both of them ended up on the same boat with their hearts crashed under their feet. Whatever it was it made Yixing invite him to his next showcase and Jongdae agree to it.

_The showcase went well. Now that Jongdae wasn’t too focused on Junmyeon’s reaction to Yixing, he paid close attention to the way the boy moved. He remembered the last time he was shocked, but this time he was surely, undoubtedly, 100% awestruck. The boy was incredible. Yixing danced with so much power and confidence that Jongdae had never noticed before. Sure Yixing was confident when fighting with Jongdae for Junmyeon’s heart, but this was different. He owned the stage. His every move was precise and sharp as if he was born to dance and not to mention the body rolls. Jongdae didn’t understand how, but somehow in the middle of Yixing’s solo he felt hot and he begun fanning himself. The boy oozed talent and self-confidence and sue Jongdae but he was such a sucker for the type._

_Okay, but it only applied to the dancing part, since as soon as he saw Yixing he didn’t know what to do with himself. There was the boy who a few minutes ago was humping the stage and looking, if he had to be completely honest with himself, sexy, but when he looked at him all he saw was the boy who pretended that his Korean wasn’t good so Junmyeon would stay after classes to help him out (Jongdae knew for a fact that Yixing’s Korean was decent, as he often caught him in the library reading classics). The admiration and the hatred for the boy confused him and he had no idea what he felt for the boy. All he knew was that he wanted to figure it out._

_Jongdae congratulated him on his performance and Yixing thanked him before suggesting to go to the café they went last time. They didn’t talk on the way as neither of them knew what to say._

“When did you start singing?”

Yixing’s sudden question caught Jongdae off guard.

 “I guess since middle school? I sang a lot when I thought I was the only one in the classroom. Once Baekhyun heard me sing and basically threatened to steal my dinosaur-shaped pen, if I didn’t sing up for the chore and I took a liking to it.”

Yixing’s eyebrows rose in amusement.

“Dinosaur-shaped pen?”

Jongdae blushed. Maybe he should have made up something like always having a passion for singing or something cliché like that.

“It was cool at that time,” said Jongdae lamely.

Yixing, on the other hand, only became more amused.

“A dinosaur-shaped pen. Cool. In middle school,” deadpanned Yixing.

 Any other time seeing Yixing’s eyes sparkle with amusement which very often was accompanied by his lethal smirk meant trouble for Jongdae; this time though he quite enjoyed seeing it.

“Ah, let me live, will you?” whined Jongdae. “I really liked that pen. Also my nickname at middle school was Dino as I was very loud during basketball matches. My brother was on the team and damn me if I didn’t cheer the loudest for him. If it makes any difference, the pen had googly eyes and purple ink.”

Yixing outright laughed at that.

“You know, the brother thing might have saved your dignity, but the googly eyes ruined everything.”

“Excuse you. The googly eyes don’t deserve this kind of disrespect.”

Somehow, the tense awkwardness which was over their table like a cloud, disappeared and they talked like two friends who met up to have a cup of tea together. It was nice. Maybe he wouldn’t mind doing this again.

Yixing’s chuckles quieted down and he looked at Jongdae with a look Jongdae couldn’t read properly. They stared at each other for a few moments before Yixing cleared his throat and looked out of the window. Okay maybe Jongdae was too quick in judging their awkward level.

Suddenly, a question popped into Jongdae’s head which had been there for a week now.

“How did you know that I want to study music? When Yifan asked you replied instead of me. How did you know?”

Yixing sat back and had a faint smile on his lips.

“I studied you.”

“Um… you _do_ know how alarming that sounds right?”

Yes, he definitely liked hearing Yixing’s chuckle.

“A bit? I did tell you that night that I knew stuff about you. You know the whole know-your-rival thing.”

“And I remember telling you how scary that sounded,” he got quiet before coming up with the next question, “So what else do you know about me?"

“Well…” Yixing seemed deep in thought before continuing, “You sing well, your grades are pretty okay, better than mine actually. You seem carefree, but you are very attentive to your friends and you like taking care of them.You like clean people and you are very organized, judging that your best friend is Minseok and your crush is Junmyeon. You are also a romantic. You ruined my umbrella just so you could walk with Junmyeon under the rain. And you were singing Exo’s “For life” in the classroom, when you thought everyone had left and you were looking at the roses you gave to Junmyeon as a present for getting 100 from his chem exam. I still can’t believe he actually believed that excuse.”

Yixing was smiling. Jongdae, on the other hand, once again was confused. How the boy who he knew for a few months knew him better than most people from his class? Everyone knew him as the Dino Jongdae – the loud, whiny, talkative boy with a very obvious crush on Junmyeon. No one notice the details since no one cared enough, Junmyeon included. No one knew that side of him besides Minseok. Minseok and Yixing.

“What about me then?” asked Yixing sounding more unsure than he ever did. Jongdae wondered what was going on in his head at the moment.

“You are competitive and ambitious. You don’t care how many obstacles you have to overcome to get what you want. You are also very cunning and reckless,” said Jongdae without thinking much of it.

Yixing’s smile faltered and got replaced with a pained smirk (if that was a thing).

“So that’s what you think of me?”

He sounded disappointed and Jongdae felt like the worst human alive. He had to get that pretty smile back on his lips, but his brain didn’t corporate.

“Mostly. I also think you are a sore loser,” Jongdae tried to joke, but it only worsened the situation. Yixing averted his eyes and looked outside. Jongdae wanted to just bite his tang and die right there.

Yixing abruptly stood and without looking at Jongdae said;

“I better get going now.”

“Wait!” said Jongdae unintentionally grabbing Yixing’s wrist.

Yixing just looked at him with curious expression. Jongdae himself was curious as of what he wanted to say at the moment. _Think, brain, think._

“I-I’m going home too.”

Yixing’s curious expression turned into a disappointed one just like a few moments ago and he pulled out his wrist from Jongdae’s grasp. For some weird reason, Jongdae felt even worse than before.

 

xxx

 

They were walking quietly again, except this time it was filled with tension instead of awkwardness. Jongdae wanted to fix everything but his brain was dead; there was only one thing on his mind – why was Yixing disappointed? He didn’t say anything offending and the last time when they had a similar conversation Yixing looked flattered with it, but not now. Now he looked as if Jongdae said something terrible and only his manners were holding him back from leaving Jongdae alone on the street.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” Jongdae didn’t exactly know what offended Yixing, but he felt the urge to fix things as soon as he could.

“No, it’s alright. You said what you think. You shouldn’t apologize.”

Again that sad smirk. Jongdae was a dickhead. He didn’t know why but he was.

They got quiet again and Jongdae started to think back of the conversation they had trying to figure out where he did wrong. And not long after it clicked. Jongdae was the dumbest person alive. How he didn’t notice it before? All Yixing said to him were compliments – telling him that he sings well, that he is a romantic and the teasing about the pen. It all made sense now. Yixing was flirting with him and he just unintentionally said that all he saw in Yixing was his ambition and cunningness. As if he still saw him as an annoying rival. Except Jongdae didn’t. Since the moment he learned who Yifan was he stopped thinking of Yixing as a rival and thought of him as a person who shared the same feelings as him. Someone who exactly new what he was going through. And now when the said boy spent the evening trying to make Jongdae know him better, Jongdae still acted and talked just like he’d do in the past.

On the other hand would Jongdae like to date Yixing? He stared at Yixing and decided that yes, he would. Now all he had to do was to tell the boy about it.

“It isn’t all I see in you.”

“What?” Yixing cocked his head to one side.

“I don’t see you as my annoying rival anymore and I’m sorry I sounded like that. It was meant to be a joke but I guess my jokes suck. Do you really want to know what I think of you?”

Yixing just nodded, but Jongdae could see his eyes looked hopeful. _Just don’t screw this up._

“I think you are smart and interesting. I like your voice and I like hearing you play piano. You are very talented and hard-working. Also you look very cute when you get immersed in a book and how you sometimes try to muffle your laugh when you read something funny and how your face often changes expressions depending on what you read. And when you dance you are just incredible. You are born for the stage and even the previous time, when I came here with Junmyeon I was sure you’d win him because who’d date a mess like me when you were there with your dimple and perfect body and beautiful voice…” Jongdae trailed of not knowing how to continue.

Yixing snorted.

“And I thought Junmyeon would chose you, because no matter how much I didn’t want to, I had to admit that you’d make a good boyfriend; you are handsome and funny and you blush a lot which is very cute. Anyone would be happy to have you.”

Before Jongdae could decide whether or not he should ask ‘would you?’ a hand lightly touched his waist. He quickly turned around and saw Junmyeon and Yifan standing right in front of him. Yixing turned around too.

“Hey guys,” said Yifan waving awkwardly.

“Hi,” said Jongdae and Yixing at the same time.

“It’s so nice seeing you here. Were you leaving the café? We are just going in. I should have brought you two here sooner. This is a perfect place for a date,” said Junmyeon quickly.

“A date?” asked Jongdae.

“Oh come on. I’m not that stupid, alright. You think I didn’t notice the notes you kept passing to each other, and the smirks and the winks that accompanied them. Honestly, you weren’t even trying to hide it.”

_Was it what it looked like from aside?_

“And how can I forget all the times Yixing asked me what I knew about you or why you weren’t with me? And the same with you Jongdae; you always asked about Yixing and you were always the first to notice him in the crowd. Also there was a certain bouquet and a note involved which I clearly saw being put on your desk by Yixing. I’m pretty sure I got invited to the showcase only because I was next to Jongdae and it would have been rude not to invite me too. You guys have been around each other since day one. I may be a bit oblivious but not to that extent. ”

Now that he thought of it, Junmyeon made sense. If his two friends kept asking about each other and passed notes (not to mention the winks and smirks, and even the one time he sent a flying kiss to Yixing) he would definitely think they were dating.

“I don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me, though. I was so happy for you guys. Jongdae has been single as long as I know him and it’s so nice that he finally found a boyfriend, especially as kind and attentive as Yixing. And Yixing has a hard time being away from home. Now that you guys have each other, I’ll be less worried for you,” Junmyeon sounded even more mum-like than he usually did.

Yixing and Jongdae both looked at each other. They didn’t know how long they stared before they heard Yifan's voice.

“It’s their honeymoon phase. We better leave them alone. Also our table is waiting for us,” said Yifan before escorting Junmyeon to the direction of the café.

They still stared at each other, both immersed in their thoughts.

“I still like Junmyeon,” said Jongdae.

“Oh,” said Yixing looking down.

“No, I don’t mean that I’ll continue to have a crush on him, I just mean that I need some more time. I’ve had a crush on him since middle school and it can’t just go away in a week or two. I know he has a boyfriend and I never stood a chance, but my feelings are a different thing. I can’t control them. I don’t have an on and off switch on my heart. And I’m sure you feel like it too.”

He paused trying to catch Yixing’s emotions. Yixing looked him in the eye before nodding slowly.

“But I’d like to try.”

“Try what?”

“Dating you. If you don’t mind it, that is.”

Yixing opened his mouth and closed it again.

“Before you say anything, I know that you were flirting with me back then. Or you just seemed to. Anyways, I know you long enough that you didn’t invite me here or to your showcase just to simply find someone to replace Junmyeon. Am I right?” Jongdae hoped he sounded sure, but he was awfully terrified of having read this wrong.

“You are right. I didn’t invite you to my showcase because I had no one else to. It’s just after spending so much time trying to understand you better and being concentrated on you, I kinda started to like you a bit?,” Yixing lightly blushed at this. “Like everything I found out about you, made me think you are a great person and even if I tried to deny it I really thought Junmyeon would be happy with a guy like you.”

“Well the good news is I kinda like you too. No matter how much your smirks annoyed me I always thought you looked exceptionally handsome when you were smirking at me across the classroom. And I notice how much you put yourself in everything you do. I always admired that. And what I’m trying to say is that I would like to date you and not because I want to forget about Junmyeon, but because I like you as a person,” said Jongdae.

“Alright,” said Yixing beaming.

“That’s it? I pour my soul into this and it’s all you can say?” lightly scolded Jongdae.

“I already told you all I wanted to. I like you and I’d like to date you.”

“Now this is what a call a proper answer,” Jongdae was beaming too. He wondered if his cheeks would tear apart if he continued to.

Yixing took his hand in his and escorted him home. When Jongdae reached home, he went inside not forgetting to kiss Yixing’s cheek. When he looked through the window and saw the awestruck Yixing with his hand on the cheek Jongdae just kissed, Jongdae felt that falling in love with the Chinese boy would be much easier than he thought.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was stuck around 200 something hits before i posted the second part lol  
> thanks for reading my crappy stuff!!!!  
> kudos and comments are highly appreciated also check out my other stuff? pls?


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